Evaluation (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Geography B): Revision Note

Specification links

The notes on this page cover part 1.6 of component 3 of the WJEC Eduqas B specification – What evaluative techniques should be applied to the enquiry process?

• Identify the limitations of geographical evidence: accuracy, reliability and bias.

• Reflect critically on the strengths and limitations of both primary and secondary data, methods used, conclusions drawn and knowledge gained.

• Appreciate that stakeholders may have vested interests (for example, where primary or secondary sources of data rely on opinion).

Evaluation

• A key focus in the fieldwork questions in the exam is the evaluation of data collection

• Enquiry evaluation should:

  • Identify any problems with, or limitations of, data collection methods

  • Suggest other data that would have been useful in the study or improvements that could be made

  • Evaluate how reliable the conclusions were

  • suggesting how the scope of the study could be extended

• To evaluate the conclusion, students should examine whether

  • The conclusions reflect the aims and hypotheses set out at the start of the enquiry

  • The aim and hypothesis were appropriate—could the hypothesis be easily assessed?

  • The location was appropriate 

  • The accuracy of the results could be improved if the data collection were to be repeated

Data collection – problems and limitations

• There are always issues and limitations associated with data collection; they may include:

  • Accessibility of sample sites—could all sample sites be accessed?

  • Sample size: Was the sample size large enough?

  • Duration of the data collection—was the enquiry time long enough to collect the data needed?

  • Methods: Were the questionnaire questions appropriate to meet the aim and test the hypothesis?

  • Were there any issues with the equipment?

  • Was there any human error in the process of recording data or reading the equipment?

  • Time of the data collection—did the weather or time impact the results collected?

  • Unforeseen issues—were there any problems on the day, such as road works and river flow, that affected the results?

Other data and improvements

• There are always improvements that could be made to data collection; these may include:

  • increasing the sample size

  • taking more measurements 

  • looking at a wider range of secondary sources

  • using other equipment—a flow meter would be more accurate for measuring river velocity than a float